Suzuki, the first company to build a “Hyper-sport” bike, was way ahead of their time with the invention of the GSX1300R in 1999. Aptly named after the fastest diving bird of prey, (Hayabusa is Japanese for Peregrine Falcon) the Suzuki Hayabusa was the world’s fastest bike manufactured in 1999.

When the first version of the Hayabusa was produced in 1999, it was meant to overpower the then dominant Honda CBR1100XX blackbird, and boy do it do the job. In nature, the Peregrine Falcon hunts down Black Birds with precision and speed, and true to its name-sake, the Hayabusa ate up every other sport bike that was on the track. With its 1299cc, liquid-cooled, sixteen valve, DOHC, 173hp engine, it easily devoured all the competition.

Some people viewed the body style of the GSX1300R as ugly, but its aero-dynamic full faired body was actually very instrumental in keeping the bike stable at its 180+ mph. However, despite its homely appearance, the Hayabusa became immediately popular and ended being one of the most sold and customized hyper-bikes ever produced. There are considerably more Hayabusas with modified body work and running gear than its Kawasaki ZX14 counterpart.

In 2001 Kawasaki and Suzuki reached a gentleman’s agreement to regulate their hyper-sport bikes to not go faster than 186 mph, and in 2001 the Hayabusa had a speed limiter installed to keep their agreement. Other than the speed limiter, the first generation of Hayabusa was produced with very few changes from 1999 until 2007.

Chassis

Drive Train

Gearing: 6-speedClutch: Constant MeshDrive System: Chain, #532

In 2008 Suzuki redesigned their beautiful “Busa” to keep up with the performance pressure Kawasaki was putting on the Hyper-bike world with their creation of the ZX14. The first change was to the body work. While it was of course updated to a more modern styling, the biggest change was that Suzuki hid the fairing fasteners for ‘Busa owners to easily customize their paint schemes.

The changes weren’t just for the bodywork though as Suzuki revised the engine internals to boost power and reduce noise and emissions. The 2008 Hayabusa engine received an updated exhaust system, improved heads and pistons, Suzuki Duel Throttle Valve system, (SDTV) Suzuki Clutch Assist, (SCAS) boosted compression ratio, and increased the displacement from 1299cc to 1349cc. The changes increased the GSX1300R’s horse power from 173hp to 197 hp.

In 2013 to increase the stopping power of the ‘Busa, Suzuki upgrade the brake system to Brembo and added ABS as a purchasable option.